As this article is being written, the amusingly named Tokyo 2020 Olympics are due to begin on the 23rd of July, 2021 and proceed until the 8th of August, 2021. Barring some catastrophe, it seems unlikely that they are going to get postponed again like they were last year. Taking this into account, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and how Japan has decided to use it as a vehicle to promote Japanese popular culture worldwide.
First, I should clarify that I myself have little to no interest in the Olympics and I can only imagine that I’d end up watching them if someone physically restrained me to a chair and forced me to watch them! However, I do confess that I’m quite interested to see how the Japanese government handles their “Cool Japan” push in the context of the games and whether this is ultimately a success.
First, I would like to draw attention to a particularly amusing case of foreshadowing when manga and anime classic Akira predicted the Tokyo 2020 Olympics back in the 1980s with several important scenes within the series such as the climactic battle taking place within the construction grounds for the Neo-Tokyo 2020 Olympics arena. While there are many other aspects of Akira that did not come true such as a nuclear bomb being dropped on Tokyo or World War III occurring, this coincidence is still quite amusing.
With regards to the actual, real world Tokyo 2020 Olympics, it has become clear that Japan intends to use this as an opportunity to promote Japanese popular culture worldwide. From the very beginning, during the bid process for hosting the Olympics, it was announced that popular anime and manga icon Doraemon was being selected as a special ambassador for the games. This might seem strange to many English-speaking fans of anime or manga as Doraemon isn’t particularly popular in the English-speaking world. However, it’s important to remember how popular the franchise is in many countries the world over such as France, India, Korea etc. and, from that perspective, the decision to highlight Doraemon makes perfect sense.
In addition, Tokyo 2020 Olympics branded merchandising associated with anime and manga characters are being produced. A variety of merchandise featuring characters from Naruto, One Piece, Crayon Shin-chan, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Precure, Yokai Watch and Astro Boy are being released and Tokyo 2020 Olympics Gunpla are also seeing a release.
In addition, a variety of creators from the anime and manga industries are also being enlisted. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 Official Programme sees legendary mangaka Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon), Hajime Isayama (Attack on Titan), Yoshikazu Yasuhiko (Mobile Suit Gundam) and Eiichiro Oda (One Piece) all contributing artwork for some sports. In addition, a new anime short produced by Studio Ponoc named “Tomorrow’s Leaves” will begin streaming on the Olympics website one hour before the opening ceremony.
This push by Japan to use the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to promote Japanese popular culture makes a lot of sense but I can’t help but wonder how effective this push will ultimately be in the long-term. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to see in the near future if this has any impact on the popularity of anime or manga worldwide. Let me know your thoughts on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Japanese popular culture push, whether you’re going to watch the Olympics or, like me, you’re going to skip them, whether you think the push will be successful in the long-term and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk or amazon.com for all of your needs!